Inside A Student's Mind

Update...

2008-12-31T14:26:00.003-06:00

Well, looking at my last post, the last time I posted was in August! Time flies! Anyway, not a lot has happened since then. The fall semester went well (better than expected) and I am almost done with Christmas break (bummer!). So now I am getting ready for the spring semester. I am taking two classes and an internship. I am excited about the internship, but I am really nervous. I had to buy liability insurance. Liability insurance!?! I know that it is supposed to calm me down, but it just makes me more nervous! Oh well, I just hope I have clients who don't like the idea of suing. But we shall see. I will hopefully keep you updated more frequently (I say that all the time, don't I?). Until then, see ya!

The Apostle of Love

2008-08-26T22:48:00.003-05:00

For those of you who will not be at White Station Church of Christ tomorrow (or if you are a woman and going to the ladies' class) I want to give an overview on the lesson that I will be teaching for the men's class. I will be teaching a lesson about the apostle John. John's story is an amazing one and his journey can be inspiring to anyone. When we think of the apostle John we think of a loving, caring man. However, John was quite the opposite. In his younger years he was rugged, hard-edged, ambitious, zealous, brash, and self-assertive to name a few. But as John aged and became more mature, the lessons that Christ taught him and the Holy Spirit changed John's weaknesses into his greatest strengths. The so-called negative characteristics that John displayed had been balanced by his love for others.

There are many lessons we can learn from John, but there are three points that I would like to point out (from "Twelve Ordinary Men" by John MacArthur). The first point is that John learned the balance between love and truth (Mark 9:38; Luke 9). Christ taught John that even though he needed to pursue truth, he also needed love and compassion. For us today, we need to have a willingness to pursue the truth of God's word by showing love and compassion to those around us. The second point is that John learned the balance of ambition and humility (Mark 10:35-45). In Mark 10 Christ teaches John the lesson of humility by teaching that one must become a servant to be great in the kingdom in heaven. John had a lot of ambition, but here he learned the balance between ambition and humility. In his gospel, John never uses his name, but uses "the one whom Jesus loved" to describe himself. He did this because he wanted to be humble and give Christ all the glory. In our lives we need to learn to have ambition to reach the heavenly kingdom, but to also do that with humility towards God. The last point is that John learned the balance of suffering and glory (Mark 14:50). When Jesus was arrested, his apostles, including John, fled. Here John realized the suffering that was to take place. He ultimately came back to Christ and learned more fully that one must suffer to earn a heavenly glory. John was the last of the apostles to die, but he did not die of cruxificition or stoning, but of old age. I believe that he still went through persecution and what it takes to have a heavenly glory. As Christians, we need to realize that we will go through persecution, but we also need to realize that there is a heavenly glory waiting for us.

These lessons that John learned can also be applied to us today. But one thing that is for certain: we need love in our lives just as John had love for others. Christ turned his greatest weaknesses into his greatest strengths. He turned him from a ruthless, rugged person into a loving caring person. He is also doing that for us today. Let us be children of God that shows love to others just as John did.

The Semester Approacheth!!!!

2008-08-14T22:19:00.002-05:00

Well, I am finally done with my summer classes just in time for my fall classes to begin. I have some pretty good classes this semester and I am excited about them, but at the same time I wish I could have a longer break. Oh well. I also have all of my books for these classes...all 800 of them!! No not really, but there are quite a lot of them. Anyway, we shall see how this semester goes and hopefully keep you guys up to date. Also, I have added some more speaking dates so if you are in the area and have nothing else better to do then drop by and hear me speak! Until then, goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Report on vacation (I wish I had another one).....

2008-07-20T23:56:00.013-05:00

Well, Sarah and I went on our vacation a few weeks ago and it was a wonderful weekend to spend time together and to get out of big city Memphis for a while. Our bed and breakfast was wonderful! It was my first time ever to stay at a bed and breakfast and I am positive that it will not be my last. The breakfasts that they cooked for us (cinnamon rolls, ham and cheese omelets, banana nut muffins, and stuffed french toast) were absolutely wonderful and the room was awesome! I recommend that everybody stay at a bed and breakfast at some point of their lives. Anyway, Sarah and I did all of the touristy things in Hot Springs (tours, museums, riverboat cruises etc.) and we had a great time. However, next time we go to Hot Springs, we are going to check out the bath houses and have a good, old fashioned spa treatment! But I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from our vacation.
Well, as you can see, this blog has gone through a major makeover. It took me a while to get the new banner up, but as you can see, it is finished and I think it looks great! I will hopefully post again soon and keep you guys up to date. But until then, I anxiously (and fearfully) await a new grad school semester! See ya!

I need a vacation.....

2008-07-03T14:05:00.003-05:00

Well, I am done with my summer classes......the lecture part that is. Now I have to work on papers, article summaries, etc. and all I can say is-I need a vacation! But the cool thing is that Sarah and I are going on a vacation this weekend! We are going to Hot Springs, AR and staying at a bed and breakfast. It should be a fun little weekend to get away from the busy life in Memphis and to just have fun. I will let you guys know how everything went and will have pictures. So until then, adios and have a great 4th of July!

Summer is Here!!!

2008-05-30T22:07:00.002-05:00

Hello everybody! Well summer is here and it is going to be something else. I am taking my first summer courses since I was in elementary school! It is going to be neat to get two classes out in two weeks, but that just means that I have to do a lot more work before the fall semester. Anyway, Sarah is going to Georgia to visit her parents while I am taking my first summer course. It will give me a chance to get a lot of studying done! She is just sweet like that! After she gets back, she will start teaching the little kiddies at Harding Academy's summer camp. It should be fun.....maybe! I am glad that she likes what she does because I surely couldn't do it! Speaking of Sarah and myself, our one year anniversary is coming up and we got a neat little trip planned to Hot Springs, AR where we are staying at a bed and breakfast. It should be fun!
Anyway, to end my summer I am speaking at White Station COC in their men's summer on John (the person, not the book). He is one of my favorite biblical characters to speak on. So much love! Speaking of speaking (confused, yet?), if you look on the right side of the blog you will see a new page element entitled "matt's speaking engagements." More should be on there in the future and if I am speaking at a city near you then drop by and see me! Well I hope all of you have a great summer and I will try to post again soon!

It has been a while....

2008-04-05T23:01:00.002-05:00

Okay....so, I have not written in a long time. Sorry to the few readers I have...lol! I have been super busy ever since I started grad school. My first semester was alright (They always say that the first semester of grad school is the hardest). My grades were average and there is always room for improvement. This semester is almost over (thank goodness), but it has been better than last semester and I think that I am doing better this go around. I am taking two classes this summer and I am looking forward to them, but I am not looking forward to all the work I have to do in one week! My job is going well and I am getting the hang of everything. They are even giving me more responsibilities which is always a good thing, I guess.
Sarah and I have been married for almost one year. Our first year has gone very quickly and it seems that we had gotten married just yesterday (or last week or something). We are looking at going to some bed and breakfast somewhere after I am done with my summer classes (July 4th weekend). If anyone has any suggestions on where to go, please let us know. Anyway, I hope to write more than I have in the past, but we shall see.

I feel the stress...

2007-10-03T16:25:00.000-05:00

I have always heard that graduate school can be a stressful time for any student, but I had no idea. It is not that the classes are hard, but there is just a lot of work associated with them. However, I am making it and ready for fall break (which is next week)! To update on my current job everything is going good so far and I have been given a lot more jobs to do each week, which is good I guess. Sarah is still liking her job and getting used to living in Memphis. So, as of right now there is just a lot of stress, but I can make it. I always do!

It has been a while since I have talked about my marriage and how everything is going so far. Well, marriage is always going to be a learning process and I am always learning new things about Sarah that I did not know before and I am pretty sure she is learning new things about me all the time. But it is good that we are learning to compliment each other by the things we learn about each other. Marriage is still a lot of work, though, and we are just trying love each other just as God would want us to.

I will update soon!

The First Week

2007-08-24T13:54:00.000-05:00

Well the first week of my graduate school career has ended and I am very excited about what each class will bring each week. And even though I have extensive reading assignments, I believe that I am ready for this semester. Plus the professors have deleted any fears that I had about grad school, which helps me a lot and for that I am really grateful. Now I know for sure that Harding Grad is the best place to be and that being a counselor is where I belong. I am already getting excited about getting my degree and starting my profession and it has only been one week! But I cannot wait for the rest of my training and finding out where God wants me to be.

I haven't really talked about what I have learned in marriage yet and I think it is a good time to do so. I believe that a lot of people (and yes, even myself sometimes) go into marriage and think that they are going to be happy no matter what. That happiness is just going to fall into our laps! But what I have learned is that you have to work together in marriage to be happy. Now true that you are suppose to be happy with the spouse that you have, but to be truly happy requires a lot of work. I don't believe that God created marriage to be easy and that we have to work as husbands and wives to work out all the problems in marriage. Over the years there has been a steady decline in divorces in the United States, but there has also been a steady increase of divorces among the Christian community. This shows me that even Christians are unwilling to work hard and be happy in their marriages. Let us all remember to work hard to make our marriages happy, last a very long time, and to be what God wants them to be.

How Not to Work Out

2007-08-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

Unbelievable

2007-08-15T15:28:00.001-05:00

Check this out...Look at this first picture then the second picture
This truck ran into the guard rail (where the people are standing) and flipped in the air before landing on that ledge.
Unbelievable? Believe it!

And It Begins...

2007-08-10T12:24:00.000-05:00

Well, my first year of graduate school is about to begin and although I am very excited to start my studies, I am also a little nervous. Since I have never been in a graduate course before I am not sure what it will be like and looking at the syllabi it looks like it will be a heavy workload, but I believe that I can handle it....maybe. I have already received my books and I am ready to go for my first class so we shall see how the first semester will go. I have also started my new job at Memphis Integral Neurofeeback Institute and it has been great to see the inner workings of a psychologist's office, but it has been a learning experience. Also, Sarah and I have placed membership at White Station Church of Christ. We feel that this congregation is a great group of people and that we found a congregation that we see Christ-like attitudes and where we can grow spiritually. So right now it seems that Sarah and I are settled into Memphis and getting used to everything and overall I think we are going to like it here...a lot.
Through the past month there has been a lot of changes that Sarah and I have gone through and although it has been difficult at first I believe that we have handled it well especially with the Lord on our side. Whenever we go through changes like moving to a new place, getting a new job, etc. we have to let God take the reigns. In Exodus 15:13 Moses writes "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling." We have to realize that when these changes occur in our lives that we have to let God lead us and He will lead you to the right path.

Here We Go!

2007-07-25T21:22:00.001-05:00

Okay, I am writing my first blog on blogger....so there. My blog will hopefully be full of anecdotes of things I have learned at school, marriage, the Bible, and all walks of life. But this first blog I just want to give some info on my life so far. Well I just got married a few weeks ago and so far everything is going swimmingly. Sarah (the wife) and I have moved to Memphis at the Harding campus and I will be starting classes in August. We still are getting our apartment situated and hopefully it will be fully decorated soon (with the help of Sarah's mom). Well I think that will be all for now but check back for some more interesting blogs. See ya!